LEGAZPI CITY --- The Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) has warned settlers along the slope of Mayon volcano to be on their toes because sudden pyroclastic flow may take place anytime.

        Cedric Daep, APSEMO chief, told Bicol Mail that a repetition of February 2, 1993 Mt. Mayon eruption may happen again after the volcano triggered ashfalls Saturday morning until Monday afternoon.

        Presently there are 1,400 families living within the slopes of the volcano. Daep also warned the people nearby not to tamper or destroy the monitoring devices put up by Phivolcs officials to watch the abnormal activities of the active volcano beneath the ground.

        Responding to an emergency call, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda ordered the provincial and municipal disaster officials to strictly enforce the no man’s land policy within the six-kilometer danger zone.

        Army Col. Ariel Bernardo, commanding officer of the Army’s 901st Infantry Brigade based in Villahermosa, Daraga, Albay said Task Force Mayon has been reactivated to assist provincial and municipal disaster officials in case of rescue and emergency operations.

        Sunday morning till Monday afternoon this week, Mt. Mayon spewed ash that reached an approximate height of 200 meters above the summit before drifting east north east.

        The ash ejection which lasted for one minute was recorded as explosion type earthquake by the seismic network deployed around the volcano.

        Mt. Mayon is undergoing an episode of increased activity probably related to magma movement and post eruptive behavior of the volcano, according to Ed Laguerta, Phivolcs resident volcanologist chief in Bicol..

        Laguerta told Bicol Mail that since March this year they observed slight increase of crater glow intensity associated with volcanic tremors and ground deformation.

        “With these indications there is an on-going magma build up beneath the volcano. So, we cannot discount the possibity of phreatic or major explosive eruption,” Laguerta said.

        Mt. Mayon has erupted 50 times since 1616. Its last eruption took place June until August 2006. Four months after the explosion, two super typhoons Milenyo and Reming hit Bicol, burying alive more than 1,000 people in Albay due to volcanic mudflow.